Restful

Japanese garden with koi pond, originally uploaded by diahn.

Doesn't this picture look like a wonderful place to sit and meditate? It was. I didn't. It's in the Birmingham Botanical Garden's Japanese Gardens. Lovely...the cherry trees were in full bloom, along with camellias, red bud trees and the first dogwood flowers. I was here with my family and my MIL who lives nearby. What a lovely place it is - open and free to the public - beautifully maintained with paths, both paved and not. It's another one of those places that I go to and wonder why my town doesn't have one, or something like it. It's not that I don't like my town...okay...maybe I don't...but I'm confused as to it's lack of cultural activity for the everyday person (as opposed to the old money and the new money and the money money). I mean - come on - this was FREE. It was a weekday afternoon and there were scores of people there enjoying it...families and businessmen and young couples and old couples. In my town, it seems that the only activities are to shop in the giganto-upscale-PINNACLE-shopping center (it's always packed) or spend $70 per ticket to see a big name act come to town.

What is it? Is it the proximity of such a beautiful, natural, national park so near by? The lack of dedicated, passionate people to spearhead such things? The general air of unrelenting apathy there? Even I have become apathetic living there - it's rubbed off.

I know you don't care, but I'm tired and far from "home" and the only thing I miss is my DH (and my house...I like my house). I've driven around my college town for the last couple of days and noticed the improved parks and beautification activities they've undertaken - so nice. I've always like that town - it's small and quaint - a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll. But, being a good university town, there was always a free concert somewhere, or an art show or a irish drinking band or something to go watch. I drove past a local, ummm, estalishment, I was once known to frequent and the sign on above the door said, "Thick Smoke, Dim Lights, Loud Music...welcome to Egan's". It made me smile. That's just like Egan's. I'm not really into bars or thick smoke anymore - but I wanted to go in and just sit and talk to the countless interesting people I used to talk to there. I didn't think it was appropriate to take the boys in, though.

I'm traveling to the town I grew up in and it is full of casinos, now. It wasn't when I grew up there. This will probably all get worse tomorrow.

We'll just go ahead and file it under "rant", and I'm sure we'll revisit it again soon when the so-called "Dogwood ARTS Festival (or farce, depending on who you ask) kicks off...

sigh...